Lionel Messi's top 5 hattricks for Barcelona

Lionel Messi had a forgettable world cup in Russia as Argentina crashed out in the round of 16 at the hands of eventual champions France. Some say this was Messi's last opportunity to lift the elusive world cup trophy but the little magician has developed a habit of surprising us every now and then.

With the world cup fever over, fans are excited for the upcoming club football season with all the top clubs coming in with reinforcements to put a solid case for themselves. Ith so many changes expected there is one thing constant and this is watching Lionel Messi shine for Barcelona. The Argentine will walk out as la Blaugrana player for yet another season with yet another record to break. Over the years the little magician has broken goal scoring record all around. With 552 goals to his name, the Argentine is Barcelona's all-time top scorer as well as La Liga's all-time top scorer with 383 goals in 428 appearances.

On the course of scoring so many goals, Lionel Messi has scored some brilliant hattricks as well. With 30 hattricks to his name, the Argentine stands 2nd on the all-time list for most hat-tricks scored in La Liga behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi’s brilliant goal scoring ability has been witnessed in the champions league as well in which the Argentine has scored a record 7 hattricks- a record he shares with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Out so many brilliant hattricks by la pulga, here we have his top 5 hattricks in a Barcelona shirt:

#5 vs Real Madrid (2014)

Football - La Liga - Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona

One of the most fiercely contested Clasico of recent memory as Barcelona met Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in 2014. The evenly matched sides locked horns and the winner would have had a clear advantage in the points table. The top 2 sides in Spain battled for yet another time to seek glory and give the world a taste of Clasico mania and they didn’t disappoint.

Lionel Messi was the focal point once again as the Argentine scored a memorable hattrick which proved to be the turning point of the season as Barcelona came back from behind on 2 occasions to win 4-3 and go top on the points table.

Lionel Messi set up Andres Iniesta for the opening goal after which Karim Benzema scored 2 in succession to put real in front. The Argentine got the better of Real Madrid's defense once again as he got on the scoresheet as well. With the scores 2-2, real were awarded a penalty which was successfully converted by Cristiano Ronaldo. With 2 controversial penalty decisions going in Barcelona's favor in the final quarter of the match Barcelona ended up on the winning side 4-3 as Lionel Messi scored 2 from the spot to claim a hattrick.

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The hattrick is more remembered for its importance in the title race than anything else.